Study: 40% of October mobile ad campaigns targeted

Only 40% of mobile advertising campaigns that ran in October were targeted despite the channel's ability to target consumers based on criteria such as geolocation, according to a study released by mobile advertising network Millennial Media on Dec. 8.

Mack McKelvey, SVP of marketing at Millennial Media, said that the broad targeting is due to marketers seeking a larger reach heading into the holiday season.

“There is a ton of promise with mobile for more targeted campaigns,” she said.

Of those mobile campaigns that were targeted, 60% targeted consumers based on location, and 40% were targeted according to consumers' behavior or demographic information. McKelvey said that locally targeted mobile ads are a “great draw” for national advertisers looking to drive local foot traffic.

Advertisers “are starting to replace their traditional ad buys from radio and local newspapers with mobile, where they know that they can target a local message” to drive local results, McKelvey said.

The goal for 37% of mobile campaigns that ran in October was to create a sustained in-market presence, according to the study. McKelvey said this is a top-of-funnel goal and that advertisers often revise the goal as a campaign is live with more targeted follow-up goals, such as lead generation, which trailed as the second most popular goal at 22%. “Advertisers can get seven lines of a form filled on mobile,” McKelvey said.

App downloading was the most popular post-click action among the month's mobile campaigns. Following app downloads' 40% popularity, 31% of advertisers called on consumers to enroll, join or subscribe to a marketing list. Asked whether she was surprised by the latter number because consumers may prefer submitting information via a non-mobile device, McKelvey said that she was not surprised and pointed to a Millennial statistic that 40% of mobile usage occurs inside consumers' homes.

Other popular post-click actions included watching videos at 25%, placing calls and viewing a store locator each at 23% and viewing a map at 22%. Sharing content via social media followed at 21%.

The majority of mobile ads drove consumers to a brand's site, with 56% doing so compared with the 29% that directed consumers to download an advertiser's mobile app.